Little Angels

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to attend the nursery. They arrive happy and are greeted by friendly staff. Staff work as a team and are kind, nurturing and attentive. Children who need help in settling in are supported by staff who know them well. Staff have good knowledge of children's backgrounds, families and individual experiences. Staff form positive, trusting relationships with the children. The relationships between all children are good. Any rare minor disagreements are managed sensitively.

Staff offer a range of stimulating activities, which engage and interest children. For example, babies explore the garden and pull themselves up to access activities. Older children mix ingredients to make play dough. They delight in creating models and sharing these with staff. Staff promote opportunities for children to develop their physical skills, such as gymnastics sessions, playing with magnetic construction sets and using objects to pour water. These opportunities help to develop children's core muscles and fine motor skills.

Children are curious and motivated to learn. Staff are positive role models. They are calm and help children to understand how they might be feeling. They guide children's behaviour through gentle reminders and divert their attention if needed. Staff show respect to the children as they ask permission before they change their nappies. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress and are prepared for their next stage in learning.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders are ambitious and passionate about the support they provide for all children. They support staff to plan activities based on children's interests. Staff observe children and plan activities to support their next steps in learning. Children, in the main, remain engaged and focused during these activities and experiences. For example, while using stencils and water to create marks on the patio.
• The key-person approach is used consistently in the nursery. Staff have built relationships with babies, who are happy and settled, and support their language development well. For example, staff model spoken words to babies and use Makaton signs to help build on their attempts to communicate. Older children engage in singing activities and group story times. However, staff do not always identify when they can build on and expand children's language further. This means that the support for older children's language development is not as strong.
• Staff implement a flexible transition for children between the rooms at the nursery. They monitor children's progress and well-being, and support children to move to the next room when they are ready. Staff work with the local schools, to ensure children develop the skills required for this next step. The older children have specific sessions to work on turn-taking, scissor skills, getting changed and dressing themselves. This means there is good provision in place to help children become ready for starting school.
• Children develop a good awareness of the wider community. Staff provide events for children and families to celebrate based on their own backgrounds and traditions. For example, they recently celebrated VE day as well as taking part in a Spanish tomato throwing festival. The nursery celebrates specific experiences based on the children in the nursery. Parents visit the nursery and share songs and stories in different languages. These experiences help to broaden children's understanding of the wider world and help them to learn about others.
• Staff promote children's health and well-being. For example, they teach children about healthy eating, oral hygiene and handwashing. Staff promote children's independence and support them to use their self-care skills well. Babies moving around the nursery are supported to use the stairs safely.
• Leaders prioritise working in partnership with others, such as the local authority, other agencies and parents. Staff work with parents to provide flexible care, and ensure all children have full access to early care and education. Staff share updates with parents about their children's care and learning. They adapt the methods of communication depending on the individual family's preferences and requirements. Parents explain that all staff are approachable and supportive. Staff go beyond what is expected of them to support families. Any funding that the nursery is in receipt of is used to meet specific children's individual needs. The nursery promotes a lending library, which supports the children's continued interest in stories and reading.
• The management team is reflective of staff practice and recognises where improvements can be made. Staff feel well supported by leaders. Staff training and supervision sessions are used to implement action plans and to raise standards across the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to identify when to build on and expand children's language further, particularly older children.